UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has condemned the car bomb attack in the Somali capital that killed high profile television journalist Awil Dahir Salad, his driver, Abdiqadir Hassan Yusuf, and two bodyguards, Mohamed Dubad Gajaow and Ibrahim Mohayadin Ahmed, alongside more than 10 other people.

“I condemn the killing of Awil Dahir Salad, Abdiqadir Hassan Yusuf, Mohamed Dubad Gajaow and Ibrahim Mohayadin,” said the Director-General. “These tragic deaths are a call to action: No effort should be spared in seeking to improve the safety of journalists and media workers. The contribution of the media to public debate is essential to conflict resolution and reconstruction.”

Awil Dahir Salad, host of a popular talk show on Universal TV, and his three support staff were killed when a car exploded at a military checkpoint near the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu, on 22 December